Weekend Wings

In my house, it doesn’t have to be football season for us to enjoy a plate of wings. They are so much of a hit with family. Whenever I make wings, the family snatches them off the platter faster than I can put them down. These crispy beauties are the perfect canvas for experimenting with sauces. I’ve used everything from traditional buffalo sauce to barbecue sauce, and everything in between. The sauce I am making for this recipe is exactly that, a cross between buffalo sauce and barbecue sauce with a “Remix” flare. They’re a welcome change to typical buffalo style.

Here is everything you need to season the chicken wing sections before you fry them.

Start with a bowl of cleaned wing sections and all your seasonings. Season the chicken well, but don’t go overboard. You don’t want the seasoning to overpower the sauce.
Next dredge your chicken sections in flour. I use a plain ole’ zip lock bag. Shaking the chicken in the bag of flour gives a nice even coating, resulting in crispy deliciousness. It’s also much neater than dredging in a bowl or pan. When you’re done, you can just toss the bag.

Use a zip-top bag to dredge seasoned chicken before frying.

Grab a deep pot and fill it halfway with oil. Heat the oil to 35o degrees. When the oil gets hot, add the chicken. Be sure to shake off excess flour before plunging chicken into the hot oil. Also, don’t crowd the pot too much. Let the chicken fry for 15-20 minutes, or until it’s golden brown and very crispy.

While the chicken is frying, it’s time to make the sauce.

In a pot, add barbecue sauce, hot sauce, honey, garlic, cayenne pepper and BEER. Yup, you read right…BEER. Use a nice amber ale or other beer with good flavor. Whatever you do, don’t use a light beer. Simmer it on low for 10 minutes. Remove the sauce from the heat and transfer it to a large bowl. When the wings are done, drain them briefly on paper towels.

Drain the chicken wing sections on paper towels.

While the wings are still hot, toss them in the bowl of sauce. Coat them evenly, then transfer the to a platter. If I were you, I would set a few aside for yourself because they’ll be gone before you know it.